Chapter 3 - What happened the day before
Pierce had brought three clients to the beach club.
Not random clients.
Senior partners from Harbor Crest Capital, an investment group considering financing one of his company’s largest projects.
Pierce was president of Fenwick Coastal Development.
His company specialized in:
Waterfront hotels.
Marina districts.
Private-club redevelopment.
Resort communities.
He had spent eighteen months assembling a proposal for a declining oceanfront property called:
Greyhaven Point.
Purchase and redevelopment cost:
Approximately $128 million.
Harbor Crest was considering a major equity investment.
The beach weekend was unofficial.
No boardroom.
Families invited.
Children included.
Yesterday afternoon, Cade had walked with us near the water.
One Harbor Crest partner’s nine-year-old daughter ran into waves.
Cade stayed behind.
A larger wave came farther up the beach than he expected.
He screamed.
Grabbed Pierce’s waist.
Started crying.
One client saw.
That was it.
Nobody laughed.
Nobody complained.
One man even said:
“My kid hated the ocean until she was eight.”
But Pierce stiffened.
I noticed.
Later he said:
“He was making a scene.”
I answered:
“He got scared.”
“Same result.”
May you like
“No.”
I should have paid more attention to that sentence.
